The present invention relates to refrigeration, and more specifically, this invention relates to automatic content and/or context aware refrigeration.
A refrigerator is a popular household appliance which includes a thermally insulated compartment and mechanical components which are able to cool an interior of the insulated compartment to a temperature below an ambient temperature of the room in which the refrigerator is located. In other words, refrigerators are able to provide a confined space in which the temperature is controllable in a range below a temperature exterior the confined space. Refrigeration has served as an improvement in food storage as lower temperatures slows the reproduction rate of bacteria, thereby reducing the rate of spoilage.
Conventional refrigerators typically include one large compartment in which various items (e.g., food) may be stored and cooled. However, a result of having one large compartment is that everything placed therein is subjected to the same temperature. In many cases, having a single compartment set to hold a certain temperature is desirable and serves as an effective way to cool various items. However, different foods have a wide range of “ideal” temperatures at which they are stored, and therefore conventional refrigerators lack efficiency in maintaining the overall longevity of the various food items that may be stored therein.
Moreover, although a certain type of food may have an ideal temperature at which it is generally stored, this may not be the most effective storage temperature for a particular food article based on the context in which it is being used, or is planned to be used. Thus, although two food articles may be a same type of food, it may be undesirable to subject them to the same storage temperature based on the situation.